Government Raises $105 Million For Student Loans

Higher and Tertiary Education Minister, Professor Amon Murwira has said that the government has raised $105 million for the loan scheme for students in tertiary institutions.

The development comes when students in various institutions have been contemplating deferring their studies following fees hikes.

Speaking to The Sunday Mail, Murwira said that the loan scheme would complement the already existing facilities that are presently being offered by private players such as Getbucks, CBZ, POSB and ZB Bank. He said:

Not every student has access to a payslip, so we introduced this loan which can be accessed by students and has better repayment methods.

One can pay per semester or upon completion of studies. We have mobilised the funds from the fiscus and the Zimbabwe Manpower Development Fund (ZIMDEF), and CBZ will match every dollar that we put into the scheme, which takes the money to $105 million.

He added that the government was paying its arrears to institutions and was also disbursing more funds to the institutions to meet their operational costs.

Murwira said that this would cushion the institutions so that they exert less pressure on students.

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